


A Day in the Life of Gomi

by Inkssend



Series: Elf-ish [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: Character Study, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons Campaign, Dungeons & Dragons References, Mindflayer, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Tentacle Monsters, and towers, but of course theres a tag for that, no beta we die like men, oh wow theres no tag for that, okay then, swamps, swamps and towers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29853534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkssend/pseuds/Inkssend
Summary: All that was left in the southernmost swamps of Warthford were ruins. Broken relics and spires long forgotten and abandoned to sink in the heady murk of mud and reeds. It was as if the details of a once prominent city were smudged and left for interpretation to the generations of V’exandrians that have come to settle amongst the crumbling remains. Within the most misted region of the marsh stands a tower, more cracked and limping through the remainder of its lifetime if one were to consider the slight angle at which it leaned.
Series: Elf-ish [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194818
Kudos: 4





	A Day in the Life of Gomi

**Author's Note:**

> Hey uh well this is my first ever posted work...like ever. I never actually post these but now I have a good reason to! This is one-of hopefully more- small fics in regards to my ongoing DnD campaign that I have been in for almost two years now. This character in particular is one of my favourite NPCs and belongs 100% to my incredible Dungeon Master. I hope I did Gomi justice and there will be more to come!

All that was left in the southernmost swamps of Warthford were ruins. Broken relics and spires long forgotten and abandoned to sink in the heady murk of mud and reeds. It was as if the details of a once prominent city were smudged and left for interpretation to the generations of V’exandrians that have come to settle amongst the crumbling remains. Within the most misted region of the marsh stands a tower, more cracked and limping through the remainder of its lifetime if one were to consider the slight angle at which it leaned. 

The various foliage that was adapted enough to grow in a swamp such as this, blanketed the tower. Vines and moss decorated the external walls, lacing in the grooves of ragged fissures and padding the edges made by natural erosion. No original entrance stood above the mud, long since buried, however, at the peak of said tower there was a new one. The roof had caved over time and what remained was an open mouth of a hole, ringed with whatever chipped tooth-like merlons that survived without the original foundation. The moon was high in the night, casting shadows and warping the gaping maw of the tower that seemed to lead to the void itself. 

At the lip of the entrance, standing between the crenels of the pillar and looking into the dark depths below with a blank expression, stood a dark figure. Cloaked and hidden by the black of night, the mindflayer looked on into the opening without fear of being spotted. It was why they had chosen this spot after all. It was secluded and far from any form of civilization. Especially the one they had run from. 

Dropping down into the depths of the tower was no nuisance to Ullugoma, finding it quite beneficial to their ideal of discretion. During the descent, the outline of what could have been a staircase spiraled down towards the bottom of the building, confirmed by the piled rubble at the base. Glancing around, the mindflayer got a feel for their surroundings, taking in the collapsed stairs as well as the topmost outline of a door they were blocking. Reaching out to detect the thoughts of any nearby creature and finding none, Ullugoma began the exhumation. 

While no physical activity was needed, the mental strain levitation put on Ullugoma’s body was beginning to get to them. With a dull throbbing in the back of their enlarged head, the mindflayer finished moving the last remains of the stone staircase and stepped through the path to the door that had been formed, gripping the dented handle and giving it a solid tug. Fortunately for them, the door swung open rather easily. As did half of the wall the door brought with it on its bent hinges. 

Waving away the dust, Ullugoma squinted into the now exposed doorway, a rumble of a cough making its way through their throat while tossing what was let of the battered door into the wreckage pile. Clearing out the entrance would be dealt with eventually, but not right away. They needed to make sure this tower would be secure enough to house themselves for an undefined period of time.

Entering into the next room, the mindflayer looked around with eyes still watery from the upset dust. It was barren, the wall separating this room from the main tower now broken and falling in to fill the empty space. Darkvision allowed Ullugoma’s eyes to easily adjust to the pitch black of the room and focus on the outline of a door on the other side. Thankfully, this next door stayed bolted and while it gave an ungodly shriek of rusted hinges, the wall was left intact. 

A moldy table sat in the corner of the room to the left of the door, old and buckled along with some haphazardly placed chairs. There was an old fire pit with a heavily oxidized cauldron across the room, framed on both sides by wooden shelves that were misshapen from the humidity that permeated through the tower. Glass jars and other supposed preservatives, long since spoiled lined the walls and ended just before an entrance into another room. 

_ This must have been a feeding chamber.  _ Ullugoma was not yet used to thinking freely in their own head. They had been born with the Elder Brain already residing within them, speaking the words of duty amongst the mindflayers. That tether to the hivemind had been cut as soon as they had left, not that this mindflayer in particular minded. It was the whole reason why they abandoned their creed. This was to be their home now, but there was still much more to do.  _ Hopefully some living quarters remain-I would hate to have to go out so soon after finding such a fortuitous dwelling.  _

Leading out into the hall, a single glass cabinet was directly to the right along with another closed door. Peering within, the dusty glass blurred the scattered objects within, prompting the mindflayer to open it slowly. Small porcelain antiquities were lined in somewhat of a row, seemingly untouched albeit fractured in some places. Picking up the closest item, a strange and white rodent-shaped container...with holes and a squiggly symbol in the shape of the kingdom’s common tongue? Turning it over in their clawed hand, Ullugoma observed it carefully before glancing back at the cabinet where an object that mirrored it still sat. The other object was also a rodent with holes, but this one was black and had a symbol of a loop with a tail. Putting the two items together, it almost looked as though the little ceramic creatures were embracing in the heat of battle with the little arms of the figures wrapped around each other.  _ What odd totems...War deities perhaps? _ The mindflayer pondered the peculiar objects for another moment before closing the cabinet and brushing the dust from their robes.  __

Turning to the left portion of the hallway which seemingly led down into-  _ What is that? Is that...an ooze? _

Ullugoma stepped further into the hallway and towards the end, pausing only to bend down and observe whatever glossed the stone floor. A viscous and semi clear purple fluid coated the floor and continued further as the hallway curved around a corner. Thinking it best to just leave it be for now, the mindflayer stood back up and proceeded to the next area of exploration. 

This door was different than the others in the manner of it being less deteriorated than the other that had been come across earlier. The hinges were holding steady and creaked quiet enough to forgive as Ullagoma pulled it open. Inside of the room there was a small bed up against the wall to the right and pressed up next to it was a small vanity and stool. On the opposite side, a shallow wardrobe stood with its doors pulled open. On the floor across from where the mindflayer was situated, a small puddle of purple slime leaked from behind the wardrobe and into the center of the room. It was thinner than the massive coagulation in the hallway and seemed to be coming from whatever the furniture was set in front of.  _ A leak in the wall? Maybe it is coming from the soil beneath the tower… _

Ullugoma wandered further in, making sure to sidestep the spillage that was slowly draining into the bedroom.  _ Yes, this surely is a living area. Not that large-but I am in no place to be particular with my sparse selection of accommodations. This will do fine...but first this leak must be stopped.  _   
  
Pulling a rag from the satchel on their hip, the mindflayer dropped it on the pooling purple fluid and used what remained of his Pscionic powers to telekinetically wipe up the spill, following it to the source somewhere behind the wardrobe and pushing it into what they assumed was the source of the slime. Now closer to the open doors, Ullugoma peeked inside to see what contents might have been left behind by the previous occupants of this tower. Nothing but a few bent wires twisted for clothing hung from a rod within the wardrobe. No clothing was found inside, but this was more of an advantage to the mindflayer. Now they had a spot to hang the multiple sets of seemingly identical black robes that they had packed before they had absconded from their ho- _ No. Not my home. _

Hanging up the robes folded neatly within the satchel, the mindflayer closed the wardrobe and faced the vanity. Thankfully this portion of the tower seemed the least changed by the swamp and was therefore the cleanest, not to say that it was in any way sterile. The slightly fogged glass of the vanity mirror reflected the figure of the mindflayer, now locked on their own reflection. Lavender skin and tentacle-like appendages surrounded by the black hood of a clock. Yellow eyes, widened in the lightless room from the strain of their darkvision. Ullugoma turned away from the mirror and looked to the bed.

Dust and mildew hung heavy in the air, clouds of settled debris puffing into the air as Ullugoma beat the stagnant remains from the mattress and blankets. By this time, the headache had subsided for the most part, having spiked temporarily as the last of their powers had been depleted for the day but once again returned to create pressure in the back of their head. 

Ullugoma was exhausted. Every fibre in the creature’s being had been pushed to the limit in their escape and it had all finally caught up to them. Fatigue pulled at the corners of their mind and as the bed was made once more, the mindflayer could not help but lay down with the fluffed comforter and a single pillow, having found it beneath the sheets, slightly stained but usable. 

The weight of sleep pulled at their eyes and as the last minutes of the night trickled along, within an abandoned tower centered in a marshland of a kingdom foreign to them, Ullugoma allowed themselves a final thought before they went into the depths of slumber.

_ This is my home now.  _


End file.
